The skyed tee shot — when the ball goes higher than it goes forward — is a common golfing sight. You usually sky a tee shot by hitting on the top part of the driver, causing an ugly mark to appear (which is one reason a tour player never lets an amateur use his or her driver).
If you’re hitting the ball on the top side of your driver, you’re swinging the club on too much of a downward arc. So, your head is too far in front of the ball (toward the target side of the ball) and your left shoulder is too low at impact — bad news for your driver.
People who hit down on their drivers want to kill the stupid ball in front of their buddies. These golfers have a tremendous shift of their weight to the left side on the downswing. If you hit balls from an upslope, you can’t get your weight to the left side as quickly. Consequently, you keep your head behind the ball, and your left shoulder goes up at impact. Here’s what to do:
Go find an upslope.
Stand so that your left foot (if you’re right-handed) is higher than your right.
Tee the ball up and hit drivers or 3-woods until you get the feeling of staying back and under the shot.
The uphill lie promotes this feeling. Practice on an upslope until you get a feel and then proceed to level ground.
